Top 6 Upcoming BI Trends: part 1

Innovation and adoption of BI tools continue to grow well into 2014. Here are three big trends to watch for this year.

1). Big Data

The term heard ‘round the world. This concept has been buzzing in and out of headlines, and can be seen featured in the press and on industry blogs with growing frequency.

The hindrance: there is still some vagueness surrounding what the term actually means, and further, for every expert all-in supporting this “brave new idea”, you will find another industry speaker willing to testify otherwise.

So, what’s the big deal with big data?

The trend: As we move beyond viewing data as simply number tables or Excel spreadsheets to dashboards and infographics, we are looking at data differently. The ways in which data is collected and used has, and will continue to evolve and expand; in recent years this has allowed the spotlight on big data to grow. Big data has the potential to allow companies greater access to information than ever before, and with more and more companies recognizing the importance of their data (even raw and unstructured data, or data coming from more unconventional streams), 2014 is going to show a bigger rise in big data.

2). Cloud BI

“The Cloud” is another name that has hit buzz word status in the media.

The hindrance: like with big data, “cloud” is a word thrown around, but often without an accompanying definition. Many people know of the cloud, but they do not know its function or purpose. In order for its adoption to grow, awareness needs to grow too.

The trend: The cloud allows for a type of speed and flexibility that just didn’t exist before. With the cloud, companies can deploy bigger projects faster and cheaper than ever before. Simply storing data in the cloud is an extraordinary resource-saver! Company resources can be spent analyzing and exploring the data, instead of manually updating infrastructure. This is huge! In a time where businesses are crying “we needed that information yesterday”, we have a technology that allows queries to be processed in a fraction of the time.

3). Mobile BI & HTML5

Companies understand that we are now neck-deep in an era of “right here, right now” and technology must adapt or die.

The hindrance: implementation. For companies that haven't already made the switch to mobile compatibility, a big hurdle is implementing that tech into their platform.

The trend: We are living in an increasingly mobile world, and BI tools need to integrate into the mobile space in order to continue being relevant. Making that mobile switch becomes easier for developers with HTML5. HTML5 allows developers an easy route into mobile, because its structure means your software only needs to be developed once to be deployed on any device. Having your BI tools at your disposal anytime anywhere, is not just crucial, but necessary in this day and age. 2014 will show a much greater adoption in mobile tech, rooted in HTML5 to meet the mobile demand.